Chinese bronze vessels to be stars of Christie's sale

Bronze ritual vessels and 13th-century painting Six Dragons will be put under the hammer in New York. [Photo/China Daily]

Another highlight is a square fanglei vessel standing 63.5 centimeters.

Among the 45 such vessels in existence, the largest one known is Min Fanglei, 88 cm high, which is now at the Hunan Provincial Museum.

The return of Min Fanglei to its birthplace in Hunan made headlines in 2014.

The vessel was supposed to be auctioned at Christie's in New York. But a group of Chinese buyers from Hunan purchased it in a private deal before the sale, so that it could be reunited with its lid, which has been at the Hunan museum for decades.

The sale of the Fujita collection will also see six classical ink-brush paintings, which used to be with Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). They were cataloged in Shiqu Baoji, the inventory of the Qing's imperial collection of top-notch Chinese paintings and calligraphic pieces.